Jealous Heart
by AndItsOuttaHere
Summary: Winona sees something she wishes she hadn't.


_This is a one-shot that has nothing to do with any other story. Inspired by the first promo for S4 of Justified, and some encouragement from Romantique. Thanks, sweetie!_

_Once again these characters belong to Elmore Leonard and Graham Yost. I'm just borrowing them for some fun._

It takes her eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness inside the bar. When they do, she spies the hat first, then the blonde sitting on the bar. The woman laughs and leans in to kiss him. Winona blinks, not sure of what she's seeing, but then she hears Raylan's voice, low, saying something she can't quite make out, making the woman laugh again. Tears spring to her eyes unbidden. She turns away, anxious to leave before they spot her, but she catches her damn heel on the door frame and gasps as she puts out a hand to catch herself. Any hope of escaping unnoticed is gone.

"Winona?"

She hears the boots behind her as she scurries out the door into the parking lot, fumbling with her keys.

"Winona." He catches up to her and a hand grabs her arm.

"Let me go, Raylan. Just let me go," she says without turning around. She swipes at her face with her free hand, but the tears are still coming. Stupid baby hormones. She cries at almost anything these days, but he doesn't know that. He'll think this is all about him. Him and that blonde with the ponytail, whoever the hell she is.

He grasps her shoulders and turns her around. She hangs her head, letting her hair hide her face, wishing the pot-holed parking lot would just open up and swallow her. It was stupid to come here. She should've just called, or better yet texted since that's their regular mode of communication these days. But when he wasn't in the office, when Art told her he'd gone home for the day, she thought it would be nice to surprise him. Instead, she's the one surprised, catching him with someone else. And surprised at how much it hurts.

"What're you doin' here?"

She pulls away. "It doesn't matter. Forget I was here." She fumbles with the key fob , pushing the button to unlock the car, but the keys fall from her hand, clattering on the pavement. "Shit!"

Raylan stoops slowly and picks up the keys, dropping them into her outstretched palm. She takes a deep breath. "Thank you."

She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and his eyes search her face. "What? You cryin'?"

She opens the car door, tossing her purse on the seat. "It's nothing. It doesn't matter. I'm just going to go."

"Wait a minute," he says, as she slides behind the wheel. Before she can think to click the lock button, he's slipped into the passenger seat, moving her purse to the floor. "What's wrong?"

She rolls her eyes. As good as he is at smoking out criminals and their motives, he's completely dense about women. "Nothing, Raylan, nothing at all. I came by to see if you'd like to grab a bite to eat, hear about what the doctor said today, and I find you making out with some barmaid."

"Now just a minute." His face reddens. "You're jealous? You walked out on me, remember? What was I supposed to do? Sit around and..."

"It sure didn't take you long," she snaps. "You could've at least waited until the baby..."

"So I should just sit around and pine after you?" He snorts, interrupting her. "I did that the first time you left me. Thought I'd try something different."

She sniffles, reaching in her coat pocket for a tissue. She's an ugly crier on a good day, and this is not a good day. Her mascara is probably all over her face. She blows her nose and stares out the window. "You're right," she says. "It's none of my business anymore." But her voice breaks on the last word and the tears start again. Dammit!

"That's not it...it's just..." he raises his hands from his lap helplessly. "I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't. Either I'm miserable or you are."

"I'm not miserable," she insists. "I'm just...surprised. I guess I thought..."

"What? What did you think, Winona? You'll have to tell me because I gave up tryin' to read that mind of yours a long time ago."

The sky is almost black. It's getting dark earlier and earlier. It's only about five-thirty, but the sun has already sunk low behind downtown Lexington, bouncing off the windows of the nearby university buildings, creating weird otherworldly shadows in the parking lot. She twists the tissue between her fingers, shredding it. "I don't know what I was thinking," she almost whispers.

He sighs, taking off the hat and running a hand through his hair. "You think what you saw in there means I'm over_ this_?" He pokes at her belly. "Over you leavin' me again?" He shakes his head. "I'm not, not by a long shot, but you made it pretty damn clear you aren't comin' back, so..."

"So you've moved on." She wads the shredded kleenex into a ball and ignores the fresh tear rolling down her cheek.

"Not hardly." He's the one staring out the window now, back towards the bar. "You remember what you said to me that night, right before you left?" He asks after a few moments. He doesn't turn toward her or wait for her to answer. "'Bout you never feelin' the same way about another man?"

"I remember," she says. "You said it was the nicest thing I'd ever said to you."

Now he looks at her. "I think it was." He nods. "It's the same for me. You know that, right? No one else even comes close."

Something like relief floods through her and she leans back against the head rest, closing her eyes, reaching out blindly until she finds his hand. She's grateful when he doesn't pull away. He links his fingers through hers.

"Is everything okay with the baby?"

She nods. "Everything's fine." She swallows. "I've been thinking about names."

"I get any say on that?" He squeezes her hand.

She smiles without opening her eyes. "You can pick the middle name."

"Oh, well, thanks. That's somethin', anyway."

"Tell me it's going to be alright," she says. "Tell me we'll figure this out."

"It'll be alright. We'll figure it out." Then soft, "I love you."

She opens her eyes, meeting his. "And I still love you back."

They sit in silence for a long time, holding hands and staring out into the darkness.

"You'd better get goin'. Be careful drivin' back to Gayle's." He kisses her soft on the mouth and opens the door. "Call me when you get there."

"I will."

He slides the hat back on and leans in. "We _will_ figure it out."

"I know." She nods.

"G'night."

"Good night, Raylan." She watches as he walks back toward the bar, turning once to look over his shoulder before he pulls the door open and disappears inside. She doesn't let herself think about what happens after that, she just takes comfort in the lingering scent of him in the car as she turns out of the parking lot and heads back toward Louisville.


End file.
